Retailers required to make premises more user-friendly

10 March 2004

Email article : Print article : More articles like this

The Disability Discrimination Act requires retailers to make their premises more user friendly by the end of October 2004. However, many are finding the law confusing.

From October, the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) requires retailers to ensure their premises are more accessible to disabled people. Meaning making 'reasonable adjustments' to any physical barriers to access. According to Sarah Langton-Lockton, chief executive of the Centre for Accessible Environments (CAE), "Retailers are responding to the Disability Discrimination Act in different ways. Some are advanced, others haven't got to grips with it and some are panicking."

Little Shop of Horrors, a game on the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) website, demonstrates examples of what constitutes a barrier to access. The game, set in an interactive mock-up of a toyshop, suggests several changes making the shop more accessible. Such as lowering shelving systems or displaying a mix of goods on the lower shelves; installing ramps and handrails to make departments on other levels accessible; lowering a section of the counter or checkout; widening spaces for wheelchairs and giving all staff disability awareness training.

These latest changes are the final stage of the DDA of 1995, which placed duties on those providing goods and services to the public, as well as those selling, letting or managing premises. The UK will be the first country in Europe to adopt comprehensive disability access legislation.

Figures from the DRC show that in the UK, the estimated 8.6 million disabled people have a spending power of £50billion pa. That the Act will benefit both retailers as well as consumers is argued by the DRC. The expected changes retailers have to make will be linked to their financial resources. New fittings could include wheelchair ramps, better lighting, audio induction loops for people with hearing aids or easy to open door handles for the less dextrous. Conditions such as epilepsy and arthritis are not always apparent and this needs to be taken into consideration, as well.

"The difficulty is that the legislation is complex," says Langton-Lockton. "It is not saying you must do X, Y and Z, so you can't sit back and say you have complied with the legislation." That ambiguous phrase 'reasonable adjustments' is even more worrying for owners of smaller shops, which do not have the budgets or facilities for momentous change. However, they need to remember that the emphasis is on the word 'reasonable'.

An Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) spokesperson stated, "If a retailer is making £15,000 profit annually and changes would cost that amount, it would not be reasonable to expect it to make those changes." Legally, a business has the option to provide services by reasonable alternative means. This could include offering services over the telephone or allowing a disabled person to use a more convenient entrance. The ACS highlights the fact that 'accessibility' means accessibility to a business rather than its premises. If a shop owner can provide services in another way, for example by providing staff to help with access to shelves, or a service window, they may comply with what is expected.

"Retailers can do one of four things when they have a barrier to access: alter it, remove it, find a way of avoiding it such as reorganising the space, or provide the service by different means," says Langton-Lockton. "Where premises are difficult it requires more ingenuity." In other words, many difficulties can be overcome through good customer service.

The ACS was also quick to point out that disabled does not necessarily imply wheelchair-bound. Good signages for the visually impaired and audio loops are equally important.

Finally, shops in Grade I and II listed buildings can get advice from English Heritage. For the most part, solutions are being found. Alongside a professional audit, the DRC advises retailers to talk to disabled customers about their shopping experience. "The whole point of the legislation is to make business open to more people," says a DRC spokesperson. "A spin-off is that other people, such as the elderly or mothers with push chairs, can benefit from that. It doesn't make sense to take shops to court when they can make small changes to accommodate disabled people."

For further advice call your Member Information Service on 01565 626001 or email grants@fpb.co.uk

Email:
eNewsletter archive

Retailers required to make premises more user-friendly

Related articles